Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics (N = 153)
| Age, (y) | 49 | (39–55) |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic imaging | ||
| Tumor size MRI (mm) | 30 | (22–47) |
| FDG-positive ALNs | 2 | (1–4)* |
| Clinical tumor stage | ||
| cT ≤ 1 | 33 | (22%) |
| cT2 | 86 | (56%) |
| cT ≥ 3 | 33 | (22%) |
| Clinical axillary stage | ||
| cALN<4 | 108 | (71%) |
| cALN≥4 | 45 | (29%) |
| Histology | ||
| Ductal | 136 | (89%) |
| Lobular | 15 | (10%) |
| Other | 2 | (1%) |
| Tumor subtype | ||
| HR+/HER2− | 71 | (46%) |
| HR+/HER2+ | 24 | (16%) |
| HR−/HER2+ | 18 | (12%) |
| Triple-negative | 40 | (26%) |
| Grade | ||
| Grade 1 | 3 | (2%) |
| Grade 2 | 77 | (53%) |
| Grade 3 | 65 | (45%) |
| Unknown | 7 | – |
Data are median (IQR) or N (%)
*The number of FDG-avid nodes was reported as ≥ 10 in 15 patients, in which case the cut-off value of 10 was used
cALN<4 less than four FDG-positive axillary lymph nodes, cALN≥4 more than four FDG-positive axillary lymph nodes, MARI marking axillary lymph nodes with radioactive iodine seeds, ALNs axillary lymph nodes